During 1996,
L.T.J Bukem began to show up on lists of the most-favored names in electronica, due in part to his serene vision for atmospheric drum'n'bass; one year later, his right-hand man and label-mate
Blame began to be name-checked as well. Influenced by the
Bukem track "Music,"
Blame and his early partner
Justice began producing hardcore breakbeat tracks by 1990. By far the most popular early
Blame single was "2 Bad Mice Take You," a spot-on fusion of decaying rave chords and stacks of breakbeats. The single, co-produced with Moving Shadow label-boss
Rob Playford, became one of the best-known hardcore tunes of the early '90s. (Perhaps belying the extent of
Playford's involvement, it was appropriated for release on the
Kaotic Chemistry LP by his own
2 Bad Mice project.)
By that time,
Blame's own productions had shifted to the more reflective timbres of jazzy jungle. He recorded several singles for
Bukem's Good Looking label, and formed (with
Justice) Modern Urban Jazz Records. After
Bukem hosted and mixed the first volume in his label-retrospective series
Logical Progression, he passed the baton to
Blame for
Logical Progression, Level 2 in 1997.
Blame also collaborated on one of the best jungle LPs of the year: the pristine, slightly jazzy
Emotions with Intellect, recorded as
Icons with
Justice. In 1998,
Blame hosted the first volume in a new Good Looking series,
Progression Sessions, with tracks by Intense,
Seba,
Artemis and
Bukem himself. [See Also:
Icons]
–
John Bush, Rovi